


Am I Ever Gunna See Your Face Again?

by Crazy_dreamer95



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, kind of a hospital AU, nursing student Clarke, social work student Lexa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 15:12:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7273147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_dreamer95/pseuds/Crazy_dreamer95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Currently on the surgical ward, Clarke had finally felt that she had found her home. She knew everyone and everyone knew her, giving her the greatest support in one of the toughest jobs. </p><p>At least, she thought she knew everyone. </p><p>OR</p><p>Clarke is a nursing student and meets Lexa, a social work student, in the hospital cafeteria. The two bond over too much coffee and soggy sandwiches.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Am I Ever Gunna See Your Face Again?

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick little one-shot based off of my own experience (except in my case, it was a med student not a social work student). Hope you enjoy it and please leave comments letting me know what you think :) Rating is for swearing BTW 
> 
> BTW if anybody is following my multi-chap fic, I am hoping to update that soon. Sorry for the delay in that.
> 
> Thanks guys!!
> 
> P.S. The song that inspired this title is none other than 'Am I ever gunna see your face again?' by The Angels.

The first thing Clarke learnt while studying nursing was that you made friends very quickly. You practiced procedures on each other and spent countless nights together studying for exams and writing care plans. On placements, all the students would band together, seeking out each other in the cafeteria and bonding over soggy sandwiches. It was no wonder then that the majority of Clarke’s friends we nursing students too – after all they understood what it was like. She knew she could text one of them in the middle of the night complaining about the pathophysiology of strokes, and that they would reply instantly with a similar reaction.

Clarke had completed all of her clinical placements at the same hospital and had gotten to know the staff and other students there quite well. There was Harper from occupational therapy, Raven from rehab, Octavia in emergency, and Anya the scrub nurse. Currently on the surgical ward, Clarke had finally felt that she had found her home. She knew everyone and everyone knew her, giving her the greatest support in one of the toughest jobs.

At least, she thought she knew everyone.

“Is this seat taken?” A girl with dark brown hair pulled back in braids asked, her sandwich in one hand and a can of coke in another. She wore navy slacks with a white blouse tucked in, a badge perched on her left breast.

“Go ahead” Clarke said, squinting to read the name tag “Lexa Woods, social work student.”

“Thank you, Clarke Griffin, nursing student.” Lexa set down her food and began eating in the blink of an eye.

“Long afternoon ahead?” Clarke asked, mixing two sugars into her third cup of coffee for the day.

“Yeah, it’s my second last week of placement so I need to wrap up my cases and hand them over” Lexa explained, eyeing the cup of coffee with jealousy.

Clarke smirked and pushed the cup towards Lexa “you look like you need it” she offered “so I suppose I won’t be seeing you around much?”

Lexa took the drink gratefully and nodded “thanks – and yeah probably not, unless our breaks coincide – I’m usually here.”

Just as Clarke was about to invite Lexa to join her for lunch tomorrow, her watch alarm beeped, alerting her that her twenty minute break had come to an end. “I better head off – I might see you around Lexa.”

“I’ll find you” she replied “I need to pay you back for this coffee.”

“Don’t worry about it” Clarke responded, adjusting the stethoscope around her neck before rushing off “my treat!”

\----

She saw Lexa the next day, sitting at the same table as the day before with two steaming cups of coffee sitting in front of her. Clarke smiled to herself and walked over, her body flooding with relief when she sat down.

Lexa gestured to the coffee casually and said “it seems to me that you need some caffeine.”

“Thank you so much” Clarke replied, attempting to gulp down the hot drink in one go while Lexa looked on curiously. “Hot, hot, hot, hot” she rasped out when she took a break to breathe, before downing the rest of the drink in record time.

“Perhaps drink it slower?” Lexa suggested, taking a small sip from her own mug.

Clarke shook her head and pulled a sandwich from her bag, quickly unwrapping it and taking a massive bite. “Can’t” she said between mouthfuls “only got ten minutes break today – got a patient being discharged soon and I want to see them through.”

“Why did you come own then? Surely that took some time out of your break when you could’ve been sitting down.”

“Iwashopingtoseeyou” Clarke mumbled, her mouth filled with food.

“Sorry?”

Clarke gulped down her mouthful and smiled before repeating “I was hoping to see you.”

“Oh” Lexa ducked her head to hide the light blush creeping up her cheeks “why is that?”

Clarke sat for a moment and contemplated. She wasn’t entirely sure why she wanted to see Lexa again. There was something about the social work student that intrigued Clarke, made her want to know her better. The fact that she was beautiful and made Clarke’s stomach fill with butterflies may have also contributed to her wanting to see Lexa again.

“Dunno” she said, shrugging her shoulders “you’re pretty alright.”

Lexa gave Clarke a small smile and raised her cup in a mock salute “you are also ‘pretty alright’ as you say.”

\----

Lexa rarely had the opportunity to visit her clients on the ward. Most of her meetings occurred in cramped meeting rooms or outpatient units. When she had the opportunity to visit a client on the ward, she jumped on it – with her role on the ward being completely different to that in the office. On the ward she had the opportunity to see her client at the beginning of their recovery, and assess for risks that may not have been predicted prior to admission. With her clipboard under her arm, Lexa walked into the surgical ward with her partner by her side. The social worker she was paired with, Indra, was a fierce woman who advocated for her client’s like nobody Lexa had ever seen.

Indra leant against the nurse’s desk “hello Charlotte, would you be able to tell us which bed Michael Meechum is in? We have to discuss some care with him for when he’s discharged.”

Charlotte smiled and turned around to look at the allocation board “bed 12, but there might be a nurse in with him doing a dressing change at the moment.”

“Thank you, we’ll wait outside the room.”

Indra and Lexa stood with their backs to the open door for ten minutes before they heard the curtain in the room being pulled back, followed by a pair of voices.

“That was a good job there Clarke, just remember next time to warn your patient before removing the old dressing.”

Lexa’s ears immediately picked up the familiar name, and she turned just in time to see Clarke walk towards the door behind a nurse. She watched as Clarke took in a deep, calming breath and closed her eyes briefly, letting her shoulders sink.

Lexa gripped her clipboard close to her chest and straightened her shoulders, never one to be distracted at work. Clarke looked up as Lexa and Indra were walking into the room. Without thinking, Lexa reached out and grasped Clarke’s hand.

“I’ll see you at lunch?”

Clarke just nodded before walking down the hallway.

Lexa shook the unsettled feeling from her stomach and pulled up a seat next to Indra. For the first time in her life, Lexa felt her mind wandering during the meeting, her attention directed to the mysterious blonde nursing student who seemed to have quickly made her way into her life.

\----

When Lexa got down to the cafeteria she found Clarke already sitting at a table. Her chin was resting on her hands, her eyes closed in thought.

“It looks like you had a pretty rough morning” Lexa said in way of greeting, sitting down and taking out an apple from her bag.

“You could say that” Clarke responded with a sigh “I lost all of my patients this morning.”

“I’m sorry to hear that” Lexa empathised, not entirely sure what to say in this situation.

Clarke shrugged and gave Lexa a small smile “can’t save them all, right?”

“No, you’re right, but I admire you for trying. You’re very strong Clarke.”

Lexa wasn’t sure if it was the harsh lighting or the high heat in the room, but she could’ve sworn she saw a red blush climb up Clarke’s neck before she ducked to hide her face.

\----

Clarke and Lexa saw eachother almost every day over the next week. Despite her best efforts, Clarke could not control the rush she got when she saw Lexa walk through the cafeteria doors.

On Clarke’s second last day of placement, Lexa was rambling about a documentary she watched the night before. She had a tendency to ramble and Clarke loved it more than anything. Her eyes would light up with such passion that Clarke couldn’t help but stare.

“Perhaps the most fascinating part was the discussion on the use of asbestos as a heating – Clarke? Are you ok?”

Clarke nodded slowly and smiled slowly “yeah I’m good – I have a question.”

“Ok, what would that be?”

“Am I stupid in thinking that this could be more than friendship?” Clarke asked, gesturing between herself and Lexa. “I dunno, maybe I am stupid, but I really like you. At least, I think I do. I don’t know. I’ve never actually felt this strongly about a girl before and I’m really confused and basically you can cut in and save me from embarrassment any time now.”

“You’re not stupid Clarke” Lexa responded after what felt like the longest silence Clarke had ever sat through. “I don’t really do relationships though – I’m very busy with university and I barely have time to maintain friendships, let alone a relationship with someone.”

Clarke nodded slowly and hesitated before asking her next question. “Tomorrow, it’s our last day here, could we make lunch a date? Nothing serious you know. Just a fun date. Could we do that?”

Lexa picked up her rubbish and stood from her seat “I’ll pick you up from your ward at half past one.”

\----

True to her word, Lexa was waiting at the nurse’s break room when Clarke went on break. She walked out of a patient’s room and smiled instantly when she saw Lexa waiting. After washing her hands she walked over and stood in front of her.

“Hey” she breathed out, her heart racing.

“Hello” Lexa replied, gesturing down the hallway before the pair started walking “I have a reservation for two at the finest cafeteria in the hospital.”

“Wow, you’re witty as well” Clarke responded with a smirk. “You know, the thought of our little date today really did help me get through a shitty shift – and I mean that literally, it was full of shit. Gastro outbreak or something. It was horrifying, there was this one guy-” she paused and took a deep breath “sorry, I’m kind of nervous, I ramble when I’m nervous.”

“There is no need to be nervous Clarke, you do not need to impress me.”

“You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself.”

Lexa pulled out a chair for Clarke to sit at in the cafeteria and sat across from her. “I hope that you do feel good about yourself, because I think you are extraordinary.”

Clarke laughed nervously and leant forward on her elbows. “I know this is our last day here, but do you think we could still see eachother once this is over? Do you have facebook? Because I find you really interesting and I love spending time with you, and even if this is our only date, I would love to just spend more time with you and get to know you better.”

“No, I don’t have facebook, but I can give you my number – just don’t let me forget before lunch is over.”

Before Clarke had the opportunity to respond, the speaker sounded.

_Code blue, two west, bed 12. Code blue, two west, bed 12._

“Oh shit, you mother fucking shit head, shit!” Clarke cursed, jumping up from her seat. “I’ve gotta – shit that’s one of my patient’s, I think I need to go.”

Lexa stood and helped Clarke repack her bag. “You go – go save lives.”

“What if – what if I can’t do anything?”

Lexa reached down and grasped Clarke’s hands in hers, noticing that they were shaking with the adrenaline rush. “You will do what you can, now go save a life.”

With a small thanks, Clarke turned on the spot and went running from the cafeteria.

It was only when she was sitting down eating her own lunch that Lexa’s stomach finally dropped.

She didn’t have Clarke’s phone number.

\-----

_Three years later_

If there was one thing Clarke disliked about the afternoon shift, it was the leftover discharges from the morning. She sat at the nurse’s station writing out the discharge plan for one of her patients who was due to leave any minute.

“Bed 14 Clarke – any idea when discharge is?” The nurse in charge, Emori, asked while not taking her eyes off the allocation board.

“Soon, I hope – social work should be here soon.” Clarke stood and put the patient file back onto the shelf “I’ve got to go check on 13’s bladder washout, just give me a yell if social work comes while I’m gone.”

Clarke walked down the hall and entered bed 13’s room, a smile plastered on her face. With ease she ran through a check list in her head, ticking off each step as she went along.

“Good news Tom” she said with thumbs up “everything is looking great.”

“That’s great to hear” Tom responded as he folded his newspaper. “When do you finish dear? You’ve been here all day.”

Clarke laughed and looked at her watch “another hour and I’ll be out of your hair – don’t worry though I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Tom waved Clarke out of the room with a smile. She was washing her hands at the sink across the hall when she heard a voice at the nurse’s station.

“Hello, I’m from social work, I’m here to see Mr Tang in bed 14.”

The instant she heard that voice, her stomach dropped and she turned around fast enough to almost cause whiplash. Sure enough, there she was, Lexa Woods. She had not changed much in the five years since their ill fated cafeteria date. She still wore her hair the same way, and her body posture was as rigid and powerful as ever. As though she were being drawn to her, Clarke’s feet started moving towards Lexa.

“Yes, Mr Tang – his nurse just needs to speak to you about something, she’s just in with a patient at the moment” Emori said before she saw Clarke walking towards Lexa. “Actually here she is now.”

Lexa turned and her breath hitched in her throat.

“Hello Lexa” Clarke greeted, her hand out stretched in a friendly hand shake.

“Clarke.” Lexa responded, grasping her hand firmly “I honestly did not think I would ever see you again.”

“Looks like fate has other ideas.” Clarke joked, her pulse racing with sheer excitement.

“Do you two know eachother?” Emori asked, looking suspiciously between the pair.

Lexa nodded and answered “yes, we met a couple of years ago while we were both students.”

“We were meant to go on a lunch date on our last day of placement” Clarke added “but a code blue rudely interrupted that.”

Emori clapped her hands together and smirked “this is like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.”

Lexa laughed and gently tapped the case file in her hand. “As much as I would love to continue this conversation” she said “I would like to get Mr Tang discharged today.”

“Yes! Of course, sorry” Clarke apologised, starting to walk towards the patient’s room “sorry, I just got a bit distracted.”

“Not a problem Clarke – perhaps we could get a drink once your shift is done this evening? Maybe have that date that was interrupted?” Lexa said with confidence, her hand hovering over the door handle to the patient’s room.

“Yeah, I would like that” Clarke responded with a smile “and maybe this time I could actually get your phone number?”

Lexa scoffed and pushed open the door, greeting Mr Tang with a cheery smile and hello.

Clarke stood behind her and listened as Lexa ran through options for the care he would continue to receive at home, and what she would be doing to ensure that he makes a full recovery. As she watched, Clarke noticed that Lexa had not changed. She was still the same kind, caring, empathetic girl she had met in the cafeteria years prior. She smiled to herself before helping Lexa go through some discharge information with Mr Tang.

Perhaps afternoon shifts were not as bad as Clarke initially thought.

 


End file.
